Bruno has qualified for the Shanghai Grand Slam qualification rounds, along with Benjamin

Shanghai, China, 1 May, 2012 - Bruno heaped praise on his teammate Benjamin after the pair beat their compatriots Harley and Evandro to reach the qualification rounds of the Shanghai Grand Slam presented by Jinshan Xinchen.

The duo fought back after they lost the opening set to win the second of two country quota matches 18-21, 21-19, 16-14. Earlier Harley and Evandro had beaten Thiago and Ferramenta 21-10, 21-19.

At 40 years of age Benjamin has been on the FIVB SWATCH World Tour since 1997 and has much to teach the 25-year-old Benjamin.

“We have only just started playing together again and it is always a pleasure,” Bruno said after the match. “He is like a teacher and is one of the best players here.

“In every tournament the country quota match is hard. It is always 2-1 and every point is important, but Benjamin played well in the tie-break.”

The pair played together on the 2010 and 2011 FIVB SWATCH World Tours, but after the 2011 Moscow Grand Slam Benjamin was paired with fellow veteran Marcio Araujo, with whom he won the Aland Paf Open. Bruno meanwhile played with Maciel for the rest of the year.

Further changes at the start of 2012 meant that Bruno and Benjamin were reunited, though they began in inauspicious circumstances when they fell at the country quota stage at the Silesia Open in Myslowice, Poland.

Their success in the country quota round means that Brazil could have four teams in the main draw.

“We have just started and this is our first tournament back together,” Bruno continued.

“We hope to grow match by match, but there are a lot of determined teams out there and everyone is extra determined because it is the Olympics this year.”

The 2012 FIVB SWATCH World Tour is scheduled over a seven month period and features 12 tournaments for both men and women. For the men the season stars in April in Brazil and ends in October in Morocco.

The US$600,000 Shanghai Grand Slam is the second of nine double gender events and the winning pair share a $43,500 purse.

It is the ninth straight year in which Shanghai has hosted an FIVB SWATCH World Tour event and the men’s final takes place on 6 May.

Following the completion of the Shanghai Grand Slam the World Tour moves onto to China’s capital for the Beijing Grand Slam from 8-13 May.